1440 Explores
How the Presidency Became Too Powerful
Published: 14 May 2026 at 09:00 Europe/London
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Episode notes
America's founders were so afraid of concentrated power that they spent three months designing Congress, but only three days on the presidency. They thought that was enough. It wasn't.
Today, one office controls 4 million federal employees, the world's most powerful military, and the ability to reshape the lives of every American ... all while the founders are, presumably, spinning in their graves.
So what happened? How does a job description that fits on half a page become the most powerful office on earth? And is there any way back?
Guest: HW Brands, historian and author of "American Patriarch: The Life of George Washington," professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist
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Credits:
A production of Rhyme Media for 1440 Media
Host: Sony Kassam
Producer: Nicolo Majnoni
Editor: Dan Bobkoff
Fact Checker: Alice Jones
Sound Designer: Jay Cowit
Executive Producers (1440): Sony Kassam and Drew Steigerwald
Executive Producer (Rhyme): Dan Bobkoff
About 1440: 1440 is a community for the knowledge-obsessed that helps curious people stay informed and inspired every day. We live in an age of limitless information but limited understanding. Algorithms decide what we see. Misinformation spreads faster than truth. And the tools meant to expand knowledge now distort it.
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